Disney finally changing the story inside Epcot's Spaceship Earth

July 11, 2007, 10:01 PM ·
Well, it looks as if Disney is officially updating Spaceship Earth. I was just looking through Breakdowns here in Los Angeles. Breakdowns are the job listings that are sent out by entertainment companies who are looking for actors or other talent for their movies, TV programs or theme parks. Anyway, today Disney listed the following Breakdown:

Replies (7)

July 12, 2007 at 6:51 AM ·
This won't be the first time they changed Spaceship Earth since its inception, but it could use another facelift inside. The changing of rides in EPCOT has to happen more often than any other park. The vision of the future is different from year to year and they have to keep up.

Although, there were many rides that changed or left that I enjoyed the songs, the atmosphere, and the relevance. The thrill rides are taking over and the educational aspect of EPCOT is waning...It good to redo Spacship Earth; its really the only one left with a brain in its head. Universe of Energy has Ellen, well, being Ellen. World of Motion's story line was great and was sad to see it go, but I will say that I love TestTrack! Mission Space is a welcome addition too. I can't stand the new Imagination ride...where is "Dreamfinder" and why is figment playing with Monty Python? I know its to keep the park relevant, but it has become more commercially campy than educational. I can't help being a geek. I enjoyed learning there. I think I am one of four people a day that actually spends time in Innoventions. They had Bluetooth on display there 6 years ago as a concept technology; does anyone remember that?

Hey, speaking of "remembering"...Does anyone remember the song they first played while the "time vehicles" started going backwards down the track in Spaceship Earth towards the end of the ride?

"Tomorrows Child...Tomorrows Child...making a brand new dayTomorrows Child, is only a daaaaay awaaaaay"

It was sooo cheesey, but I sung it everytime I was there.The wife doesn't believe me, she thinks I dreamed the whole thing up; she hadn't gone on the ride until after it was changed. Please tell me someone knows what I am talking about!!!

July 12, 2007 at 7:30 AM ·
While the ride is shut down for the next several months there are other changes that will take place as well. I agree that this news is exciting, but I think there are more impressive things being done to this ride.

This was posted on IOACentral in April. I would site the original source but I don't know what it is. There was a similar story in the Orlando Sentinel, but this one has more detail:

AKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (April 11, 2007) -- Inside the Epcot icon, remarkable changes will be taking place over the next several months. A re-imagined Spaceship Earth presented by Siemens will combine the magic of the iconic attraction's time-travel adventure into the past with a new finale which provides guests the opportunity to imagine their futures.

On a trip through time inside the Spaceship Earth attraction, guests discover how each generation of mankind has invented the future for the next generation, and how the spirit of innovation has moved people from the caves to the cosmos.

Enhancements to the time-travel attraction will encompass changes to each of the ride scenes. New show scenes will be added to the attraction's story along with new lighting effects, costumes, set decoration, narration and musical score.

This adventure through time leads ultimately to the very top of Spaceship Earth's geodesic dome, where guests arrive at the present. The time travel adventure will be enhanced through new, interactive touch screens installed aboard each "time machine" that will enable guests to create their own visions of the future and see themselves in that future.

As guests disembark the time travel experience, they are invited to visit "Project Tomorrow: Inventing the World of Tomorrow," where interactive exhibits bring to life the ideas and technologies Siemens is developing to help make the world a better place for the future.

The space is filled with fun, interactive games and displays that showcase innovative technologies. Here guests step into the world of tomorrow and glimpse the future of medicine, transportation and responsible energy management across the globe.

Opening to Epcot guests later this month, the first completed phases of Project Tomorrow will include:

An illuminated globe measuring 20 feet in diameter that will offer an ever-changing collage of inspirational images that invite guests to imagine the wonders of tomorrow.

Body Builder, a 3-D game that enables users to assemble a digital human body, simulating the Siemens technology developed to perform remote surgeries.

Super Driver, a driving simulation video game that showcases motor vehicle accident and avoidance systems developed by Siemens.With phased renovations occurring through the year, Spaceship Earth's makeover is scheduled to be fully completed in early 2008.

July 12, 2007 at 11:45 AM ·
"Tomorrow's Child"I listen to Mouse World Radio on Live 365 every day at work. So I hear "Tomorrow's Child" fairly often. It's one of my faves of the EPCOT tracks... along with the full ride soundtrack to the World of Motion ("It's fun to be free, to be on the movie... to go where you please with comfort and ease... See all there is you can see. It's Fun. Tobe. Free") and the old Horizons soundtrack too. :)

July 12, 2007 at 4:14 PM ·
I remember that cheesy song as well. Seems to be quite a few years ago but almost all of the rides had those campy but catchy tunes and ussually a motto as well. I remember Horizons was "If you can dream we can do it" Man, my brother and I used to make fun of that when we were kids. I'm not a bog fan of the movement away from education/exploration into Diney iconic. As fun as The Nemo thing is, it really does not belong at EPCOT. It's a Fantasy Land ride. But Space, Test Track, and Soarin seem to fit. I think it can be thrill and EPCOT.

July 13, 2007 at 4:59 AM ·
I don't see it as a Fantasy Land ride at all. It isn't like the submarine upgrade at DL (though I believe it still uses the same technology). The same aquarium is still there with the same real sea life. It's still more an educational pavillion than anything- just using NEMO characters as a gateway for kids to get interested in real ocean life. If they had done away with the aquarium or made the pavillion's ride into a ride similar to the subs at DL, I'd agree... but not as it is.

July 16, 2007 at 6:35 AM ·
One scene in the ride has a "newsboy" holding a newspaper and standing next to a large printing press- perhaps he is from the late 1800's. Maybe the voice over is just to update his speil to say something about the Civil War.